


On Ember Island

by imaginaryfriendss



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Ambassador Sokka (Avatar), Angst, Hurt Zuko (Avatar), M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:07:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25933375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imaginaryfriendss/pseuds/imaginaryfriendss
Summary: Zuko and Sokka reunite in the Fire Nation capitol for the first time after the war ended, and dance around the unresolved tension left from when they parted ways.You know how we all just agreed that Sokka becomes a Water Tribe ambassador and lives in the Fire Nation after the war? Yeah? Cool. Here's some stuff I think happens during that whole thing
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Kudos: 22





	1. Reunited

"So are you gonna show me around my new place or what, Fire Lord?" 

Zuko released Sokka from a loose hug. "You don't need to call me that. Welcome to the Fire Nation."

A soft smile danced across Zuko's face. He led Sokka off the docks to the cart which would take them to the palace. 

\---

Sokka quickly shucked layers of clothing as he was engulfed in the Fire Nation heat. He'd already been dressing lightly on the ship, but even his blue outer robe was dampening a little with sweat. Zuko cast his gaze down to his feet, hoping Sokka didn't notice Zuko's blush as his shoulders and muscular arms became exposed.

"So, hi," Sokka said.

"Hi."

Zuko didn't want this to be awkward. He was excited to see Sokka. He had cleared his whole day, no meetings or consultations or anything. But he couldn't help the tension he could feel between them. "How's Katara?"

Sokka's face seemed to fall a little bit. "My sister's good. She's with Aang, you know." 

"Y-yeah, I know," Zuko said, ignoring the sharp way Sokka pointed it out, as if he had made an assumption about why Zuko asked. Surely he knew Zuko better than that.

Zuko had really hoped that they-- well-- actually, he didn't know what he had hoped for. That they would embrace and kiss and be lovers for all eternity? That they would be friends, catch up, act like nothing had happened on Ember Island? None of it seemed viable. He was Fire Lord now, not a fugitive hiding out in an old beach house. 

"Well, how's Mai?" 

"I... I wouldn't really know. We don't exactly keep in touch. Sometimes I see her around the palace if her dad has to come for meetings." Zuko stared at Sokka, vaguely annoyed at what was being insinuated, but mostly trying to get his point across. He wasn't interested in Mai, or Katara for that matter.

He considered bringing up Suki, or the goddamn moon, just to get back at Sokka. Zuko decided against it as they pulled up to the palace steps. 

"So, things are nicer around here since your last visit, I think," Zuko said. Sokka smiled wryly. 

Zuko made a good tour guide. He showed Sokka where most meetings would be held, where they entertained guests on special occasions, and the throne room. Then went through the library and briefly the kitchens. The Fire Lord tried his best to be acquainted with the palace staff, and was able to introduce many of the cooks and guards and cleaners to Sokka as they passed. He would at least greet them with the respect he knew they were not awarded under his father's rule.

Finally, they reached Sokka's private quarters. 

"Someone will drop off your belongings here soon, I think. And you don't have to keep anything that's in here, like the furniture or whatever. You can redecorate if you want. So, um, yeah." Zuko cringed at himself. 

"Thanks, Zuko. Thank you for showing me around." Sokka paused, looking, not for the first time, over the elaborate crimson and black robes that his friend was draped in. Zuko knew that Sokka wasn't used to seeing him presented like this. His hair had grown out a little, to the point that it was just barely brushing his silk-laden shoulders. The gold fire emblem was fastened into his topknot. "Is there anything left on the grand tour?"

"Uh, yes. A lot, actually." Zuko smiled, easing a little under Sokka's eye. "Would you like to see the gardens?" 

\---

“It’s the wrong time of year for it, but when the turtleduck eggs hatch my favourite thing to do is come and hang out with the turtleducklings,” 

“Hang… hang out?” Sokka asked, amused. 

“Yeah. They’re my buddies.” Zuko grinned at Sokka, half making fun of himself and half completely serious. “In spring, that’s when they’ll hatch. We can come and chill with them. If you want.” 

Sokka laughed softly. His face fell a little as he realised the implications of what Zuko had just said. In spring. In eight months. He’ll still be in the Fire Nation after eight months, and who knows how much longer. He knew his friends would visit, but Toph had a metalbending school to run and Aang had Avatar-ing to do and his dad was Chief so he had responsibilities. And all of that in-between time was to be spent either alone in the palace, attending long meetings or having these excruciating tense interactions with Zuko.


	2. The Bridge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some backstory revealing what happened between the two

So, they had kissed while they were on Ember Island. And then things became way too intense with Ozai for them to properly address it. 

Sokka was sleeping in the room he’d been told was Azula’s, only divided from Zuko’s by a thin wall. Every night they’d been there, Sokka had heard soft whines and gasps from Zuko’s room and made a strong effort to block them out. He assumed Zuko was, uh… relieving tension. 

On the fourth night, the sounds from Zuko’s room were too distracting for Sokka to shut out and fall asleep. He sat up in bed, and realised that they weren’t so much gasps as sniffles, and short, cut-off sobs. Sokka was slapped with guilt. 

“Z-Zuko?” Sokka knocked on the wooden door a second time. “Are you okay, buddy?” 

A sharp inhale sounded from behind the door. A moment passed before Zuko opened the door to Sokka, cheeks freshly wet and his unscarred eye considerably puffy. “Can I help you?” Zuko glared. 

“Are you gonna let me in?”

Zuko wordlessly stepped back to let Sokka in. 

“I wasn’t crying,” Zuko said. 

“Never said you were. Just thought I’d come see how you’re going. For no reason at all,” 

Instead of standing awkwardly in the centre of the room like Zuko, Sokka chose to look around. There wasn’t much. Drawers with folded beach clothes and a thick layer of dust. There was a small white seashell on top of the drawers, and Sokka imagined a young Zuko bringing it back from the beach and setting it as decoration. He picked up an aged illustration in a wooden frame sitting on the bedside table. Four stone-faced figures stared at Sokka. A tiny Azula stood front and center, while behind her Zuko was clinging on to his mother’s sleeve. 

“Your family?” Sokka asked Zuko. 

Zuko came over to take the frame from Sokka’s hands. He barely glanced at it before placing it face-down in a drawer. 

Stupid question. Sokka mentally kicked himself. 

“S-sorry, man. I, uh. It must be hard to be here, I can’t even imagine…” As Sokka turned around, he was met with the sight of Zuko on the edge of the bed staring at the floor with an unwavering intensity that almost overmined the delicate tears welling up in his eyes. Sokka sat down beside Zuko, debating whether to put an arm around him for comfort. In the end he settled on placing his arm on the firebender’s back. 

Sokka became aware that he was sort of carrying this conversation on his back right now. Not that Zuko was really in the state for some light back and forth, but this was not exactly Sokka’s forte. His instinct to use humour as a coping mechanism was very much at war with his instinct to not be an insufferable dick. 

Sokka opened his mouth to freestyle some words of support, but before anything could come out Zuko stiltedly wrapped his arms around Sokka’s shoulders and started crying into his neck. Sokka went stiff. This didn’t seem typical of Zuko, but the guy was clearly going through something. Who was Sokka to judge? So he let the firebender cry into his neck for a while. 

A while turned out to be like, twenty minutes. Sokka found himself rubbing slow circles on Zuko’s back. He didn’t really know what to make of the way his skin was tingling in every place Zuko made contact, or how he didn’t even mind how Zuko’s tears were kind of all over him. He felt kind of weird. He’d never been this close to a dude like this. It didn’t feel that different from the time he spent with Yue. 

“I’m sorry, Sokka. This is... so stupid. You shouldn’t have to--” 

“No, dude. It’s okay. It’s fine. If you wanna talk about it, I don’t mind.”

“I don’t.” Zuko pulled back, but he failed to meet Sokka’s worried gaze. “Just, um. Do you think you could, like, stay?”

“Oh, man, you want to have a bros’ sleepover?” Sokka joked, but kept his tone tentative and soft. He maneuvered over so he was leaning against the headboard and patted the spot on the bed next to him. He decided a short smile would make this seem a little more natural. Zuko hesitantly walked around the bed and positioned himself as far away from Sokka as physically possible, but Sokka was having none of that. He pulled Zuko in so that they were spooning, pushing through how foreign this felt to him and focussing on wanting to comfort his friend. 

His efforts seemed to pay off as Sokka felt Zuko relax slowly in his embrace. After a moment Zuko grabbed onto Sokka’s wrist and pulled his arm to his chest. Their breathing fell into sync, and soon they fell asleep together. 

\---

“I can’t take any more under-salted and overcooked homemade shit,” Toph declared. “Can we PLEASE go into town for dinner tonight?” 

Neither Sokka or Zuko had wanted to talk about the night before. Zuko seemed truly embarrassed, while Sokka just worried for Zuko’s wellbeing. They hadn’t interacted all day until they found themselves at the “extremely important war strategy stuff” team meeting Toph had called. 

“Toph, I just don’t think it’s worth the risk. We have perfectly good food,” Katara said, sorting through the scarce contents of a cupboard. She pulled up some limp vegetables and about a half cup of wild grain.

“I’m sorry, but I’m with Toph on this one,” Aang said, eyeing the spotty onion. 

They each voiced their support and Katara conceded, on the terms that they go in a small group, keep their heads down and eat the meal back at the house. 

In the end, Zuko was nominated for the trip because he would know his way around the best, and Sokka because, as he put it, he could carry the most. In reality, he wanted the opportunity to spend time with Zuko. 

\--- 

“You know, the Fire Nation clothes weirdly suit you.” 

Sokka looked at Zuko feigning offense. “Oh, weirdly?” 

“N-no, that’s not what I meant,”

Sokka clapped his hand on Zuko’s shoulder and smiled awkwardly. “Sure, buddy,” he winked, mostly joking. 

Zuko had suggested they go to the night market in the middle of the town, and Sokka didn’t know what he’d pictured, but it certainly wasn’t the sight that met him as the pair crossed the bridge to the heart of Ember Island. Colourful lanterns stretched above their heads, lining the long and winding street. There were more people in the crowd than Sokka had realised were even on the island. Music that was totally foreign to Sokka’s Water Tribe ears chimed around him in swells as they pushed through the crowd, past buskers, jugglers, people selling illustrations for a gold piece. 

“Okay, Sokka?”

Zuko was staring at Sokka expectantly, and Sokka realised he must be ignoring a question he hadn’t heard.

“Uh… um, what?”

“I said, we should split up and meet back on the bridge to save time. I can get noodles, some meat and some cakes, and you can get dumplings, bread and steamed vegetables?”

Sokka could barely focus with the way his senses were being stimulated. The lights, the noise, the people brushing against him. The way Zuko’s hood framed his face. He nodded quickly. 

He made his purchases mostly with ease, except for the fact that the line to get bread was ridiculously long and some kid cut in front of him, forcing him to use every ounce of self control available to not stomp on a literal child. He also noticed a stall advertising wine made from local honey. He shoved a bottle to the bottom of his basket. 

Zuko was already waiting on the bridge. Light from the lanterns reflected off the river upon the firebender’s face. 

Zuko jumped a little when Sokka plonked his basket at his feet and leant against the railing next to Zuko. 

“We ready to go?” 

Zuko kept watching the water beneath him.

“Zuko?”

He turned to face Sokka. “I’m sorry for last night. That was like, really weird. You shouldn’t have had to hear--”

“Dude, stop. It’s okay. Seriously. You shouldn’t have to deal with all of this alone. Don’t apologise.”

Tears wet Zuko’s face and Sokka stopped his inexplicable urge to touch the boy’s sad face to wipe them away. 

“If you want,” Sokka said, averting his gaze, “We can have another sleepover tonight-- you know, as bros. For some… bro support. If you want.” He winced at himself. 

“Sokka, you don’t have to do that,” 

“N-no, I. If you want that, then, I, um. I want that.” 

Zuko swallowed hard when Sokka met his sparkling golden eyes. Without thinking, without looking around at who could see, Sokka gave in and laid a hand on Zuko’s face. For a moment the firebender froze, still as the water shining below the bridge. But after a moment under Sokka’s gaze he melted, just like he had in bed the night before. Sokka took this as a good sign. 

“ZukocanIkissyou.” 

‘Wh-what?”

Fuck. Sokka pulled his hand back. Slowing down, he apologised and made to pick up his basket and make the fastest exit possible from this humiliating interaction. 

“Yes,” 

“Oh?” Sokka’s face was bright red. It was his turn to be frozen in place. 

A soft pair of lips met Sokka’s. Dropping the basket, Sokka placed his hand back on Zuko’s face. Zuko’s eyes were screwed shut when he pulled back. 

“Hey, Zuko? You okay, my guy?” 

Again, fuck. Who calls someone they just kissed ‘my guy’? 

Their eyes met properly again. Zuko nodded. He leaned into Sokka’s touch. 

“Should… should we go back to the house?”

Zuko touched Sokka’s hand. “Yeah.” Neither of them made any effort to get going.

“Can we kiss again?”

\---

For the next four nights, they slept in Zuko’s room together. They stayed out at the campfire longer than anyone else together. They went on little trips for supplies together. One night, they snuck out to the beach and drank the honey wine Sokka had gotten from the market. Zuko had cried into Sokka’s shoulder, in broken sentences speaking about his mom, the beach house, how things were before his banishment. Sokka kissed his face and rubbed his back, unable to do much more. 

So that’s what happened on Ember Island.


End file.
